Keralites Begin Massive Cleanup as Flood Waters and Rains Recede

In one of the biggest cleaning missions following a natural calamity in India, more than 50,000 volunteers from all walks of life have descended on Kuttanad in Alappuzha district of flood-ravaged Kerala. Photo: Clean-up underway at Chakkulathkaav Temple in Kerala. (Aishwarya Kumar/News18.com)

Kuttanad, in picturesque Alapuzha, is known as the rice bowl of Kerala. Lying below sea level, it has been inundated for days, affecting 2 lakh people. A road near Chakkulath Temple after the clean-up. (Aishwarya Kumar/News18.com)

A man cleans his house as flood waters recede in Kuttanad, Kerala. While the clean-up is being conducted in 16 panchayats, the focus is on Kainakary, Chambakulam and Muttar, which were the worst-hit. (Image: AP)